Since ancient times, the lands of the Shumen region have been at a historical crossroads. Many tribes and peoples passed through here and left their material and spiritual culture as a lasting trace.
The earliest settlement in Shumensko dates from the Neolithic era (the second half of the 6th millennium BC) and is located near the present-day village of Lovets. Later, during the Chalcolithic (5th millennium BC), the area was extremely densely populated. The settlements near the Big and Small Caves in the village of Madara, the settlement mounds near Salmanovo, Lovets, Vinitsa, Sushina, Ivanovo, Sini Vir and Smyadovo were studied. The materials found in the Kojadermen mound near Shumen bear the characteristic marks of one of the richest archaeological cultures in South-Eastern Europe from the 5th millennium BC, which entered Bulgarian and world historical science under the name “Kojadermen Culture”.
From the Bronze Age (III millennium BC – XII century BC) in Shumensko, the settlements and burial mounds at Mirovtsi, Madara, Kalugeritsa, Tsarev Brod, etc. have been studied.
World-class scientists recognize that the remains of a rich spiritual and material Thracian culture are concentrated in Shumen and its surrounding area. The explored dozens of settlements and fortresses, the hundreds of burial mounds yield unique finds. On the territory of the Shumen region, more than 600 grave mounds, erected during different historical times, have been registered. Some of them reach a height of 21 m and a diameter of 80 to 120 m.
In Shumensko there are also the most significant monuments related to the formation of Danube Bulgaria, the creation of the Bulgarian nation, culture and literature. Here are the first capitals Pliska and Preslav, the cult center Madara, the aul of Khan Omurtag and the Shumen fortress.
Predecessor of today’s city, the Shumen Fortress is naturally protected on three sides and has survived over 3,200 years. The place was settled already in the XII century BC, in the V – II centuries BC. there is a fortified Thracian settlement there, and later fortresses were built by the Romans and Byzantines. In the Early Middle Ages, the fortification regained its strategic functions, while in the 12th – 14th centuries it became one of the most important urban centers with functions close to those of a capital.
Crafts and trade were highly developed, and the discovered Old Bulgarian inscriptions prove that the city was also an important cultural center.
A stone inscription describes the visit to the city of Tsar Ivan Shishman immediately before the Turkish invasion. This is the earliest domestic fountain in which the present name of the city is written.
In 1388, Shumen was conquered by Ali Pasha and a small Turkish garrison was stationed here. Later, during the Second Crusade of 1444, after a several-day siege, the fortress was captured by the troops of the Polish-Hungarian King Władysław III Jagiellowski. After the unsuccessful end of the campaign, the Turks returned to the city and gradually turned it into a military and economic center, as it remained until the Liberation.
During the Renaissance, the city was known for its lively bazaars, numerous craft and trade shops, over twenty guild associations and a city government. Production of Shumen artisans is offered at all major fairs and markets in the Turkish Empire and beyond. In Shumen, goods are imported from Marseille, Manchester, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, etc.
After the Liberation, the city retained its place among the important administrative, economic, cultural and military centers of Bulgaria. Factory production was introduced, in 1882 the first brewery in Bulgaria was founded here – “Shumensko pivo”. Even today, Shumen is among the leaders of the amber drink market. The fur, furniture and chemical industries are developing. The city is among the creators and innovators of pedagogical education. In 1914, the country’s first operetta theater was established.
The city’s contribution to the Bulgarian spiritual revival is indisputable. In Shumen, curricula were developed on a European model and the first “school test” in Bulgarian lands was held (1846), the first grade school for girls was opened (1856), the Statute for rural schools was adopted and compulsory primary education was introduced for children from the Varna-Preslav Diocese.
In 1813, the first civil celebration of the feast of St. St. Cyril and Methodius, where the first “theatre” in the Bulgarian lands was presented. In 1856, Sava Dobroplodni’s comedy “Mihal” was staged, which historians of the Bulgarian theater still consider to be its beginning. In 1856, one of the first community centers was opened – “Archangel Michael”. In 1850, the first Bulgarian orchestra for “European” music was created in Shumen, and shortly after, the first student choir and orchestra. Shumenci are the authors of the first original Bulgarian drama (D. Voynikov “Stoyan Voivoda”) and the first Bulgarian novel (V. Drumev “Unfortunate Family”).
Shumen took part in the First World War – on September 17, 1915, the Seventh Preslav Infantry Regiment was solemnly sent from here to fight on the front in Southern Dobrudja.
In the twenties, some technological innovations were also introduced – in 1921, the wireless station in Shumen began to receive radio telegrams for the press from Moscow, Lyon and other telegraph agencies, and in 1927, the first test of electric lighting was carried out along the entire city street network.
From 1950 to 1966, Shumen was called Kolarovgrad (after the Prime Minister of Bulgaria who was born here in the sixty-fifth and sixty-sixth governments of the country – Vasil Kolarov), after which the old one was returned again. Light industry is developing. The city remains an important administrative center – regional and municipal, as it is to this day.